Kulkarni, Shrinivas R. (1986) Optical identification of binary pulsars: Implications for magnetic field decay in neutron stars. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 306 (2). L85-L89. ISSN 2041-8205. doi:10.1086/184711. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130312-151227505
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Abstract
We report the discovery of the optical counterparts of two binary pulsar systems-0655+64 and 0820+02. In accordance with stellar evolution scenarios we find the optical counterparts to be white dwarfs. The existence of a cool and therefore old white dwarf in the 0655+64 system contradicts the standard hypothesis of exponential decay of magnetic fields in neutron stars. We resolve this contradiction by hypothesizing that the magnetic field in neutron stars consists of two components-an exponentially decaying field and a steady field. The former probably resides in the crust and the latter perhaps in the core: The consequences of this hypothesis for the lifetimes of millisecond pulsars, binary pulsars, and galactic bulge X-ray sources are discussed.
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| Additional Information: | © 1986 American Astronomical Society. Received 1986 January 22; accepted 1986 April 22. Based in part on research done at Lick Observatory, University of California. I am much indebted to Drs. M. Schmidt and D. Schneider for Hale 5 m data and my friend Dr. S. Djorgovski for superb seeing KPNO 4 m data With great pleasure I thank Dr. A. Klemola for assistance with astrometry, Dr. G. Bothun for help with GASP, and Dr. H. Spinrad for discussions about the optical data. I am grateful to Dr. J. Greenstein for showing me my way around white dwarf literature. Finally I would like to thank Drs. D. Backer, R. Blandford, C. Heiles, E. van den Heuvel, and R. Romani for discussions which led to considerable improvement in this Letter. This work was supported in part by NSF grant AST84-16863 and a Millikan Fellowship. | |||||||||
| Group: | UNSPECIFIED, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences | |||||||||
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| Subject Keywords: | pulsars, stars: binaries, stars: white dwarfs | |||||||||
| Issue or Number: | 2 | |||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1086/184711 | |||||||||
| Record Number: | CaltechAUTHORS:20130312-151227505 | |||||||||
| Persistent URL: | https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130312-151227505 | |||||||||
| Official Citation: | Optical identification of binary pulsars: Implications for magnetic field decay in neutron stars Kulkarni, S. R. Astrophysical Journal, Part 2 - Letters to the Editor (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 306, July 15, 1986, p. L85-L89. | |||||||||
| Usage Policy: | No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided. | |||||||||
| ID Code: | 37479 | |||||||||
| Collection: | CaltechAUTHORS | |||||||||
| Deposited By: | Ruth Sustaita | |||||||||
| Deposited On: | 12 Mar 2013 22:54 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 09 Nov 2021 23:29 |
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